A MOBILE MICROROBOT ACTUATED BY A NEW ELECTROMAGNETIC WOBBLE MICROMOTOR

Microactuators are perhaps the most critical components of micromechat ronic systems, Micromotors with diameters in the range between 10-1 mm are needed, but are not readily available for practical use, This pap er describes a teleoperated mobile microrobot, actuated by a new elect romagnetic wobble micromotor, and designed to participate Tp the ''Int ernational Micro Robot Maze Contest'' organized every year in Nagoya, Japan, This competition is an excellent benchmark to compare the perfo rmance of different microactuators. The working principle, design, fab rication, and performance of the wobble micromotor are described, The microrobot has a volume of 1 cm(3) and incorporates two wobble micromo tors, the rotors of which are the driving wheels, The micromotor gener ates a torque of 350 mu N.m at each step and a maximum speed of about 180 r/min, The operator controls the motion of the microrobot by a rem ote joystick connected to the microrobot by flexible ultraminiature wi res. The microrobot is highly maneuverable, has a maximum speed of 10 cm/s and can climb a slope of 15 degrees, Two microrobots, which diffe r only in some constructive details, were fabricated, The microrobots participated in the 1995 and 1996 ''International Micro Robot Maze Con tests'' in Nagoya and were the winners of both, A smaller version (4-m m diameter) of the wobble micromotor has been developed for use in an innovative miniature robot system for diagnosis and intervention in th e colon.